Contributed by: coldjulycoldjuly(others by this writer | submit your own)Published on October 21st 2001The early 90's...a time for change in a genre of music that had not changed really since the early 80's. New bands seemed to pop up everyday, some went unnoticed..but some bands strived to make themselves noticed..to show they were there to make an impact and weren't budging. Case in point, one of.

The early 90's...a time for change in a genre of music that had not changed really since the early 80's. New bands seemed to pop up everyday, some went unnoticed..but some bands strived to make themselves noticed..to show they were there to make an impact and weren't budging. Case in point, one of the few bands who did so...Pennywise.

In 1991 the punk world wasn't ready for what was about to hit them...some of the most hard hitting in your face music of the time. The S/T album has remained a staple in punk rock for 10 years now, and is still one of the most highly regarded no matter what a critic or reviewer has ever said.

The speed, anger and intensity of this album is like no other. The band set out to take their old punk roots owing to bands such as Black Flag, T.S.O.L., Minor Threat and Bad Religion but at the same time throw in some hardcore compared to bands like Insted and No for An Answer. All that and a good amount of melody to create a sound all their own.

This, to be the bands first actual full-length showcases some amazing talent...a thing the band is widely known for today. Fletchers' guitar work is a masterwork in itself. The speed, and technical riffs he plays are just mind numbing. Not to mention Byrons' mach 5 drum ability, Jasons' incredible bass lines and songwriting and Jims' howitzer of a voice.

I'm sure a lot of you people that visit this site have something to owe to this record. It helped bring a new style of punk to it's feet and raised the limit of what a band can accomplish. It's just damn good.

"um... pennywise is pretty badass. obviously they've gotten inspiration from a lot of bands, but every band is inspired by a ton of other bands.. usually the main reason people get into music is by being inspired by other bands. who cares if the influence is noticeable. sure that one song that gurewitz help write on the LAND OF THE FREE sure sounds exactly like a bad religion song, but who cares, its a FUCKING BADASS SONG.. i love pennywise. i've only been exposed to them for like a year now and i've bought all of their records and i love all of them. i've been a bad religion fan for several years and i've got all their stuff too, and i don't think pennywise sounds exactly like them. jim's vocabulary and rhyming style are completely different from gregs. also, the guitars are played way differently. bad religion palm mutes far less than pennywise and when they do its just basic eighth note mutes.. when pennywise does muting, its all over the place. also, the production of the two bands is so different that you would never confuse them. pennywise puts a lot more enphasis on their music than BR cuz BR relies mostly on the lyrics, so the production of the music for PW is much heavier and harder hitting. on the other hand, BR has a much better lead guitarist, but not as good a rhythm guitarist. the solos that gurewitz played and the solos that baker plays are badass and some are pretty hard to play. few bands have lead guitarists like that nowadays. the guitars aren't the living end or anything, but still pretty good. anyway, back to pennywise. they fucking rock and thats all that matters. the lyrics are cool. who knows if they mean them or not. who cares if their bass player got drunk and shot himself. they're badass. fuck yeah.. and stuff."

Badass? Hardly. I bet that dude from Anal Cunt who got into a coma could kick Fletchers ass.

Anonymous (August 12, 2005)

I meant to give it 4 stars (regards to below)

Anonymous (August 12, 2005)

I admit Pennywise was influential at this stage, blah blah, but then I look back on it and yeah it was great, but bands STILL playing this music (as in No Use, Pennywise, etc) need to pack it in. Anyways, I still prefer Unknown Road. Anything after that is just downhill really, I only put S/T and UR as albums from these frat buys that I will still accredit.

"i dont give a shit what anyone says. pennywise is my favorite band cuz they changed my life. i love their sound and their message. their sound is not the same on all their cds, its progressively different, straight ahead is not much like land of the fre. and full circle is much darker than about me.Pennywise is the shit. JMT!"

If they changed your life then you clearly aren't leading one that would make a great biography.

i dont give a shit what anyone says. pennywise is my favorite band cuz they changed my life. i love their sound and their message. their sound is not the same on all their cds, its progressively different, straight ahead is not much like land of the fre. and full circle is much darker than about me.Pennywise is the shit. JMT!
my ratings, just cuz im bored
1. about time
2. full circle.
3. unkown road
4. land of the free
5. pennywise
6. straight ahead
7. wildcard/words from the wise
8. live at the key club(just cuz its a live album)

i owe a lot to this record, it's what got me into punk. it still sounds great even after all this time. there's a lot of true fuckin passion and energy on this record, you don't see that often.

Anonymous (October 30, 2001)

You Compare Pennywise to ST?
Number one:Suicidal Tendencies play Metal! Pennywise does not!
ST also mixes Funk and Hip Hop
Pennywise dont!
Suicidal Tendencies are also Much better than Pennywise.
Pennywise are not a bad band.
They are just more of a getting into punk band rather than a band that's always your favorite.
I think this album is diff The band at there hight of Goodness(?).
Though they became more Pop. Later on.
(mostly with the skateboarders).

Anonymous (October 29, 2001)

pennywise is the definition of clique. they might be "true" but they don't really come up with any new or amazing ideas. musically they are about as monotonous as it comes. i loved them when i was younger but sometimes things need to progress. this album and unknown road are probably their best but that doesn't say too much.

I'll give "Unknown Road" my vote for best PW album. "PW" is good, then "Unknown Road" sharpens the sounds, and after that the band kinda fell flat. Each album goes into well-worn territory, and its hard for me to believe that as musicians they aren't getting bored. Don't you think Jim just erupts while they're writing songs with "GODDAMNIT FLETCHER! DO YOU NEED TO PUT A FUCKING GUITAR SLIDE IN EVERY SONG???!!!" I won't even get into the lyrics. Staying true to punk is well and good, but making the 6-7 Pennywise albums is just like the "Nightmare on Elm St." or "Friday the 13th" series of movies. Sure, there are slight differences and moments of brilliance in each, and every one has their favorties, but when you get right down to it, its just all the fucking same

I was trying to say something 'inelligent' but alas...ya beat me to it. Haha, douchebag.

Anonymous (October 24, 2001)

The guy beow is right. I hate those other bands that evolve and change their style, they have no passion at all. Punk rock, no no no ALL of Music is for bands that only play one style of music and stick to it for their entire lives.

Your a complete moron. Though you probably were trying to say something inelligent, you just slagged every great punk band. Therefore your a moron.

Anonymous (October 24, 2001)

Pennywise dont suck they are true to their passion unlike other bands that change their style. -Broken Fence

Man, Isn't it weird how all these people with snide comments always post anonomously?

Anonymous (October 24, 2001)

Respect what they've brought to the table? Meh...hardly. I've seen bigger influences elsewhere. This 'band' creates some of the tritest music in existence. Sure you can back up your pro-pennywise argument by spitting out words like "intensity" and passion", but lets face it, kiddies: these guys suck shit. Tata.

um... pennywise is pretty badass. obviously they've gotten inspiration from a lot of bands, but every band is inspired by a ton of other bands.. usually the main reason people get into music is by being inspired by other bands. who cares if the influence is noticeable. sure that one song that gurewitz help write on the LAND OF THE FREE sure sounds exactly like a bad religion song, but who cares, its a FUCKING BADASS SONG.. i love pennywise. i've only been exposed to them for like a year now and i've bought all of their records and i love all of them. i've been a bad religion fan for several years and i've got all their stuff too, and i don't think pennywise sounds exactly like them. jim's vocabulary and rhyming style are completely different from gregs. also, the guitars are played way differently. bad religion palm mutes far less than pennywise and when they do its just basic eighth note mutes.. when pennywise does muting, its all over the place. also, the production of the two bands is so different that you would never confuse them. pennywise puts a lot more enphasis on their music than BR cuz BR relies mostly on the lyrics, so the production of the music for PW is much heavier and harder hitting. on the other hand, BR has a much better lead guitarist, but not as good a rhythm guitarist. the solos that gurewitz played and the solos that baker plays are badass and some are pretty hard to play. few bands have lead guitarists like that nowadays. the guitars aren't the living end or anything, but still pretty good. anyway, back to pennywise. they fucking rock and thats all that matters. the lyrics are cool. who knows if they mean them or not. who cares if their bass player got drunk and shot himself. they're badass. fuck yeah.. and stuff.

Anonymous (October 23, 2001)

pennywise sucks. if you like them, you suck!

Anonymous (October 23, 2001)

I've loved Pennywise for a long time, and I do think they've had a major impact on punk, just as Bad Religion, Green Day, or NoFx have had. They have stuck to playing hard and fast, and it hasn't really backfired yet. For all those people who want PW to change or quit, I don't think that'll happen anytime soon. They are a great band who have stood the test of time.

Sucidal Tendecies play thrash punk, Pennywise plays thrash punk, yes ST are a little more metal than PW, but they sound similar to me.-fathead

Anonymous (October 23, 2001)

How can you even compare anyone to Pennywise? Like... Minor Threat, Black Flag, No For an Answer, Bad Religion, Suicidal Tendencies??? I mean what the fuck? Are you all fuckin morons here!? Open your ears, Pennywise is unique, no matter where they say they got there roots, they are fuckin Pennywise, and noone else! Self Titled is an awesome album, equal to every other album they released. It's fuckin Pennywise, assholes...
- SpUnKeR

Anonymous (October 23, 2001)

overrated album, full circle is the best one

Anonymous (October 23, 2001)

Pennywise, a word synonymous with pure punk rock bliss. Every pennywise album is amazing, and i deeply disagree with any moron who says they sound the same everytime- are you fucking deaf or just stupid? Every album has it's own distinct sound and mood and message focuses. For example, Word from the wise was their first ep and it had a bigtime groove to it and it was more of fun party music than hardcore punk, but that was great. The self titled was faster and alot more focused. But it's message was an extremely positive one. Songs like living for today and side one make me smile. Unknown road was much darker than the first two and was much punkier. It reminded me of old skool punk. It was one of their best records, but i lovem all. If i had to rate it would go like this-

1.) Land of the Free
2.) Full Circle, About Time, Unknown Road
3.) Straight Ahead, Self- Titled
4.) Word from the wise
BUT THEY ARE ALL MASTERPEICES!!

Yes, there were many bands playing as fast and intense as PW were in the early 90's some before...but most went unnoticed or broke up before they were discovered by fans. This record helped bring SoCal punk up to what we know today...wether you hate PW now or whatever, You should have something appreciate about this record.

I remember I lived in Ventura at the time this record hit...I remember it playing in so many cars it was unbelieveable. PW shirts became quite popular back then. So you can say how it did'nt affect bands to come after them or whatever, but I know it isn't true. I wouldn't consider them pioneers or innovators of punk but they DID leave an indelable mark for other bands to follow after them.

There is no way they made an impact on the music that came after them? That isn't true, at least it isn't in southern california. If I was to compare any band to Pennywise, it would be Bad Religion during the Epitaph era.

Anonymous (October 23, 2001)

This is album was so great that Pennywise has released it like Seven more times since, and then did a live version. They really need to spare the world some pain and just quit while they can still get real jobs.

The point wasn't to say 'who is more metal', it was that Suicidal Tendencies are speed metal, where as pennywise is not. This makes them completely different, which is what I said. Pennywise doesn't play like Bad Religion either, and their lyrics aren't more tangible, they are 'simpler'(to use a nice term). I think Pennywise is OK, but there is no way they made an impact on the music to come after them; their sound wasn't groundbreaking or original.

On the contrary, I think this album and Pennywise ushered in a lot of change for punk rock. They played like Bad Religion, but they had more tangible lyrics. As far as Pennywise being similar to ST? I don't see that at all. If you want to get into the argument over who is more "metal" then there is a whole bunch of shitty bands out there that we can talk about.

fathead - i dont think pennywise and suicidal tendencies sound very similar. i mean, depending on the album, ST are more metal than Fletcher's mom's dildo. besides, pennywise can't be a better version of ST because they aren't better.

Anonymous (October 22, 2001)

Ha, I've always thought Pennywise sounded ALOT like Bad Religion when they started off also. Its' a good album, just it wasn't as groundbreaking as many think, there were lots of bands playing as fast and intense as this for years and years in NY, LA, SF, and DC. This album didn't usher in much change for punk at all, but its good nonetheless.

Anonymous (October 22, 2001)

I still think they sound much more like Bad Religion than anything Black Flag has done. But their not that bad, and they used to have a really good live show. I think Pennywise is a great band if your just getting into punk rock, eventually you find a lot more punk bands lyrically and muscially superior to them, but I can't say Pennywise is awful.

Ok to answer both the questions 3 or 4 posts down...No For an Answer, Minor Threat and the other bands I named are clearly pennywise Influences..Im not comparing the band to them but just telling you what great bands PW draws their sound from.

And, the speed and intensity is like no other PW album..not any other punk album. I speak for this release only..but while other PW albums are great this just kinda sets itself apart from the rest.

Anonymous (October 22, 2001)

Pennywise is pretty much a better version of Suicidal Tendecies. am I wrong...- fathead

alot of people give pw shit for not beng creative or whatever, but they fail to realize that while today the pw sound is everywhere, but back when this album was released nobody was playing punk like this. It just goes to show how much they have changed and influenced the scene beacause so many bands are ripping them nofx and op ivy off.

I gotta agree with the dude below. Why does everyone constantly bitch about PW? I'm east coast, as is Coldjuly, but I still love their music. And all this "its jock music" shit, come on. Its skate-punk. What have they done thats so bad? Stay true to their sound and fans? Yeah, thats horrible, god forbid they stay with what they like and what those who respect them like.

Anonymous (October 22, 2001)

"The speed, anger and intensity of this album is like no other." You sure haven't heard much music have you?
Pennywise I guess are a good band if you like that type of music. But they've never been very original, even the band knows that....

My question is, how can you know who No For an Answer, Black Flag, and Minor Threat are and still stomach Pennywise? This was fine when the only CDs I owned were this, Stranger Than Fiction, and the first PunkORama comp, but I haven't listened to Pennywise in five years and I don't plan to take it back up now.

Daniel
http://www.deepfrybonanza.com

Anonymous (October 22, 2001)

This is easily one of the greatest modern day punk albums. This album changed my life when I was 11 years old and introduced me to punk. There are a great deal of Pennywise cynics out there, especially on the closed minded east coast, and if you're one of those people, what is wrong with you? Listen to the awesome message in their music and the honest approach to musicianship. Simply put...Pennywise fucking rocks.